Caroline Wozniacki has come under fire for performing what is being labelled a "racist" impersonation of Serena Williams.

During an exhibition match against Maria Sharapova in Brazil, Wozniacki stuffed her chest and skirt with padding and pranced out onto the court in a bid to amuse the crowd.

She said at a press conference later that day that she was poking fun at her friend and fellow tennis player Williams.

"I really love the crowd here, they're open and they have a lot of fun," Wozniaki, 22, told reporters.

While some members of the crowd lapped up the performance, others are calling the Dane's performance a "racist" attack, News.com.au reported.

One blogger on Tumblr posted: "...this isn't 'harmless fun' as one article described it. its racist. out and outright racism. mocking and making fun of the bodies of black women for a laugh? real funny, stupid white girl. real real funny."

Another blogger said: "It may have been done in 'jest,' but I love how people can can turn a black woman's body and sexuality into a caricature. However, we should not have the autonomy to celebrate any successes of our own."

The impersonation did not come across as innocent as she hoped, though, with an article on the website www.feministing.com, reading: "Given the history and current-day context of racialised standards of beauty, and the hypersexualisation of people of colour, when a white woman makes fun of a black women's body, especially in a way that hypersexualises her and draws on the stereotype of black women's big butts, it's racist."

Wozniacki did a similar impersonation of Williams last year while dancing to a Rihanna song.

A commenter on YouTube also posted about the incident, offering Woznaicki some advice: "Maybe if she imitated Serena's actual tennis, she'd win a little more." (ANI)